Culture As Fashion: The Blanket and The Hat
In a region of Africa where traditional dress has all but died out, Lesotho stands out as the exception. It's true that the mokorotlo (the Sotho traditional hat) is not widely worn these days, but you still occasionally see its distinctive cone and bobble in Lesotho, and in South Africa it is popular with Sotho migrant workers as a badge of ethnic distinction. Ironically, miners' hard-hats are sported in Lesotho as a fashion item, often by younger brothers of Basotho men working in the South African mines. Modelled on the shape of the Qiloane Mountain near Thaba Bosiu, and made of woven straw, the mokorotlo has become the standard Sotho souvenir, sold in every craft shop, usually for M25 or less. More prevalent than the mokorotlo is the Sotho blanket , still worn all over the country. When King Moshoeshoe I was presented with a blanket by European traders in 1860, there were hardly any in his kingdom, the people wearing karosses made of animal hides instead. However, by 1872 traders were reporting insatiable demand for the blankets. Made from high-quality woven cloth, they were originally manufactured in Birmingham, England, and are today made in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The ubiquitous Fraser's Stores, which you find all over the country, first established themselves by selling blankets, and still stock them today, although the Lesotho Blanket Company in Maseru is the cheapest place to buy them. Good ones (made of pure wool) cost about M250 - but don't forget to buy an outsized safety pin to tie the blanket with. The blankets are very practical, keeping the body at an even temperature except when it's really hot outside (although the Sotho wear them whatever the weather); they don't absorb much water, and they do not easily catch fire, which is handy when you are dozing by an open fire. Blankets are also associated with fertility, which is why some carry the design of a maize cob, a Sotho symbol of fertility and prosperity. Young brides are supposed to wear a blanket around their hips until their first child is conceived, and boys wear different blankets before and after circumcision. Most blankets have stripes designed to lie horizontally when you wear the blanket. A curious feature of the pattern of some blankets is their retention of British imperial symbolism. One popular design features a large crown at its centre; another shows warplanes with British military markings. However, although they have always been foreign imports, and are the commodities on which many European trader fortunes have been built, the blankets remain quintessentially Sotho, and a source of national pride
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